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Steve had been doing such a good job at trying to forget Matt, he really had. In fact, it had been an entire month since he had met the charming blind man in the most random bar in New York City on his birthday. Clearly, like him, Matt had been looking for a one night stand, no strings attached. That was…good. Yes, Steve had a lot going on for him, he didn’t have time for a relationship. There was the New Avengers team the he had to train (with help from Clint and Natasha thankfully), and then there was still the hunt for Bucky going on (although Steve didn’t like to think about it as lead after lead continued to dry up). On top of all of that, there were some whispers about a superhero registration act. Investigating that had been consuming a lot of his time recently.
Steve had been doing such a good job at trying to forget Matt. Until his end-of-the-month debit card statement came in the mail and he caught himself staring at the charge for the hotel room (So, he didn’t eat breakfast. Should I have stayed? I didn’t know what to say, it was easier to part ways without actually saying goodbye…).
A small snort from across the room brought Steve out of his daze. Steve sighed, he hadn’t head Natasha come into the room.
“I know that look,” quipped Clint, chuckling along with the other assassin.
“I told you we could find him for you Steve,” Natasha added. They had offered, repeatedly and quite incessantly over the last month. When Natasha asked him what he had done for his birthday when she took him out for drinks on the fifth, (She and Clint had still been out of the country on the fourth doing…whatever it is assassins do when they vacation? Or were they on a mission? The details were vague at best) Steve hadn’t bothered lying. She knew when he wasn’t telling the truth, and he didn’t have a problem being radically honest with her. When she did find out though, she had become insufferable. She had been trying to hook Steve up with someone for the last few years and he hadn’t let her. Telling her that he had met someone that caught his eye was the worst thing he could have done.
“If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, no thank you.” He had to admit, every time she offered to find the mysterious, handsome, blind man named Matt (her words, not mine), he found it harder and harder to say no. Yet, his guilty conscious still always led him to say no. No matter how much he enjoyed that night, Matt, if that was even his name, deserved his privacy.
Clint rolled his eyes, “Natasha, make him stop looking like a kicked puppy. Whenever he thinks about this, he looks just like a kicked puppy all over again.”
“Babe, can’t you see I’m trying.”
“Don’t you two have something actually productive to do?” Steve asked, grabbing his shield off the wall where it was hanging up, “Anything interesting on our radar? I could use a good fight.”
The two exchanged a small smile, before turning back to face Steve. Clint walked over to the map of New York pulled up on the wall-sized touch screen, “I think we have the perfect thing. Small time villain with some powers tormenting some of the citizens living in Hell’s kitchen. You game?”
Steve nodded, relieved, “Absolutely.”
~
It felt good to be suited up, running in time with Natasha on the street as Clint ran and jumped from roof to roof. Steve suddenly found himself in Hell’s Kitchen, tailing a man going by the name Shocker. Real name: Herman Schultz. Evidently, he had recently orchestrated a not-so-subtle prison break (that is, unless you consider someone building gauntlets that vibrate the air in order to blast himself through the walls of the jail subtle).
Thankfully, the rest of the escapees were easily detained and the jail had been fixed (these were ordinary criminals, no superpowers. From what he heard Sam and Wanda had handled it beautifully). Unfortunately, Shocker had already slipped away before anyone was able to get there to help. Shocker had been laying low, until the last day or two. His mistake.
When they finally caught up with the man, Steve could see Clint notching a bow on the roof above. Steve was just about to throw his shield when a figure (more of a blur of red and black) darted out of the nearby alley, knocking Shocker off his feet.
“Aw, what the hell?” Clint blurted out, still in a crouch on the roof.
“Daredevil,” Natasha muttered, still heading towards the fight.
Oh yes, Steve had heard about this one. The elusive masked vigilante of Hell’s Kitchen.
There was a flurry of kicks and punches and exploding arrows, but eventually Shocker was knocked out. Everyone seemed to make it out relatively unscathed (the only one who had actually gotten hit by Shocker’s gauntlet was Daredevil. It had sent him flying into Steve, knocking them both into the wall. Thankfully, Steve had taken most of the hit, and he recovered relatively quickly. That was going to bruise, but all things considered, it could be worse).
With three avengers and one masked vigilante, Shocker hadn’t stood a chance. It was like one of those lightbulb jokes. Except, instead of how many people it took to screw in a lightbulb, the question that should have been posed was “How many superheroes does it take to knock out one criminal in a goofy padded suit?” Evidently, four or less.
Steve turned to thank Daredevil for his help, and ask him a few questions while he was at it. He couldn’t help but notice that there had been something….familiar about the other man. He had especially noticed it when they had been in such close proximity, when Shocker’s blast had thrown Daredevil into him. He hadn’t spoke, but there had been something bugging Steve about the way he held himself, about the way the corner of Daredevil’s mouth turned into up to form a smirk (and that jawline…damn that smirk and that jawline…).
When Steve had turned around to speak, he realized the other man had already disappeared. He hadn’t made a single sound, hadn’t said a single word. Strange…
Clint scowled, “Aw, where’d he go?”
Natasha shrugged, taking the gauntlets off the unconscious Herman Schultz and zip tying his hands behind his back, “Guess we should deposit this guy at the nearest police station. Without his weapons, they should be able to handle him and bring him back to jail.”
When Steve didn’t respond, she elbowed him in the side and Steve recoiled, blinking in surprise.
“You still with us dinosaur? You didn’t doze off, did you? Past your bedtime already?” She teased, an eyebrow raised at his lack of attention.
He rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, yeah Natasha. Just a long day. Listen, you guys can handle this right? I think I want to go for a run.”
“A run? Steve, its 2 am and we are on the opposite side of the city. Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be headed to bed or something?” Clint responded incredulously.
“I’ll take that to mean I’m good to go, goodnight guys.”
“But-Steve!” Natasha scowled, clearly not happy at being left with the cleanup.
“Don’t wait up!”
~
Steve didn’t know how long he had been running. All he knew was he was sprinting at full speed, feeling free of his troubles for the first time in, well, a month. He only slid to a stop when he noticed a figure in red and black, standing there with his arms crossed down and alley Steve passed. Coming to a halt, Steve slowly backtracked. He blinked in surprise when the figure was still down the same alleyway. It wasn’t just his mind playing tricks on him.
As he walked through the alley slowly, he finally came to a stop a few feet in front of the man.
“Steve…Steve Rogers. Captain America?” Daredevil said, disbelief laden in his gravelly voice.
In the end, it wasn’t the way he moved, it wasn’t the body that had slammed into him earlier, it wasn’t the jawline or the smirk that did it. It was his voice. Even though it was lower than when he spoke normally, Steve would recognize that voice anywhere.
“You-but…Daredevil,” Steve sputtered out. He saw the other man lean against the other wall, suddenly needed something to support his weight. Steve leaned against the opposite wall, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to rest on the brick. A few silent moments passed between them. It was Steve who finally broke the silence, “Masked vigilante…blind vigilante.”
“Captain America,” Matt responded, his voice lapsing into its normal tone.
“Daredevil.” They fell into silence again.
Suddenly, there were rough lips against his own, and Steve didn’t need to open his eyes to identify them. Steve almost dropped his shield in surprise, but managed to keep a grip on it while using his free hand to pull the other man closer. He kissed back greedily. Steve had been wanting this, needing this for so long. Apparently, Matt had been craving this just as much as he had and Steve was more than willing to let himself, and Matt, indulge.
When they finally pulled apart, there was a wolfish smile that danced across Matt’s lips (God dammit, I missed those lips. I’m going to hell.)
Matt. Daredevil. Superhero.
Before Steve had any time to think about it, Matt had grabbed his free hand and was pulling him down a different street. It took less than five minutes to get wherever they were going.
It turned out Matt had an apartment, in Hell’s Kitchen. It turned out Matt had an apartment right by where he had run to.
This whole night, Steve had thought he was running away from his problems. Turns out, he was just running towards Matt.
~
Steve learned a few things that night.
One: Apparently, he and Matt couldn’t stand to be in clothing for more than two seconds when they were in the same room alone together.
Two: Super strength was great for more than just beating up bad guys. For example, it made holding someone up and fucking them against a wall a lot easier.
Three: Being with Matt satisfied some deep desire in Steve and, if Steve could help in, this definitely wouldn’t be the last time they had sex.
There was one fatal flaw with Matt: being with him hurt in just the right way. It was so good, too good. Matt was like a drug. Just one time and Steve had been hooked, two and Steve was done for. (God, if this is what hell tastes like, I don’t want to go to heaven.)
~
Steve found himself waking up first again, once again naked, his limbs entangled with Matt’s.
(Fuck, what have I gotten myself into?)
As he looked down at Matt, he couldn’t help but think the man looked so peaceful while asleep. When Matt was awake, he always looked so…preoccupied. This time, Steve settled back in, allowing himself to curl closer to Matt as he fell back to sleep. He wasn’t exactly sure what they were thinking, sleeping together again. If he was being completely honest, they really weren’t thinking. They just went with what they both needed. He wasn’t sure if them both being superheroes complicated things more or made things easier. In a way, a little bit of both.
Steve allowed himself to drift off to sleep again before he started thinking. Thinking would be bad. If he started thinking he might leave. So he didn’t.
Even after he woke up later, he couldn’t bring himself to regret the decision to stay. Matt had left a hurried note about having to get to work, apologizing for the lack of food in the apartment. There was a phone number at the end of the note, scrawled in messy but legible handwriting.
They were going to do this again, of that much Steve was sure. He rolled out of bed, putting his clothing back on and starting the journey back to his place. He ended up avoiding Clint and Natasha all day, not exactly sure what he was planning on telling him. That he found the Matt and slept with him again? No, too coincidental. That he had started casually hooking up with Daredevil, but couldn’t reveal his identity to them (and he needed them to respect that)? Maybe. He would talk to Matt about it. Steve smiled, looking down at his phone.
Me: It’s Steve, just messaging so you have my number.
Matt: Thanks. Meet again soon?
Me: Absolutely, when?
Matt: Tonight?
Me: Your place?
Matt: Yes.
Me: Can’t wait.
Matt: Me either.
Now he just had to make it to tonight.